Strange Things That Scared You (But Aren't Obviously 'Scary')

[catseye]

I have seen only very brief clips of the show and never the lion!

All I have to go on is the hinged? jaw and mobile? eyes, which might make the flat thing seem paradoxically hungry!

It makes me think of cut-out toys, held together by split-pins. No room for a lion-army inside!

My youngest daughter used to find Noo-Noo a little bit scary too.

 

[CharmerKamelion]

All this is making me think 'Teletubbies' must be the scariest thing for kids. The giggling Sun Baby? The Flat Lion? The... erm... Noo-Noo? What kind of warped minds were behind that show ???

 

[IbisNibs]

The scariest thing about that show IMHO is that it was designed to make babies watch TV!

The second scary thing, related to it and not of it, was that so many people wanted to believe that one of the Teletubbies was some kind of gay brainwashing propaganda tool because it was dressed in purple. Dopes! Some people must want to be scared.

Anyway, children get scared by lots of things that don't occur to adults to be scared of, so just be kind and patient and listen to that child, whether the child is yours or someone else's or some part of yourself.

 

[Eyespy]

I was listening to Dead Ringer on Saturday and Greta Thunberg was described as the worlds first "Woke Moomin" which I found hilarious despite it bringing back the whole terror of Moomins I experienced as a child.

Had to hide the books at night in case they got me.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

The scariest thing about that show IMHO is that it was designed to make babies watch TV!

The second scary thing, related to it and not of it, was that so many people wanted to believe that one of the Teletubbies was some kind of gay brainwashing propaganda tool because it was dressed in purple. Dopes! Some people must want to be scared.

Anyway, children get scared by lots of things that don't occur to adults to be scared of, so just be kind and patient and listen to that child, whether the child is yours or someone else's or some part of yourself.

Tinky Winky (yeah) was sort of coded as gay/effeminate - slightly camp and had a handbag.

And he did a lot of rimming in the show too.

 

[CharmerKamelion]

And he did a lot of rimming in the show too.

Really?? Wow. Think I must have missed those episodes.

I'm pretty certain that there was a Midshipman Rimmer in the 'alternative' Captain Pugwash. Along with Seaman Staines, Master Bates, Dick (or was was it Roger?) the Cabin Boy.... and all the rest of the usual suspects.

 

[catseye]

Anyway, children get scared by lots of things that don't occur to adults to be scared of, so just be kind and patient and listen to that child, whether the child is yours or someone else's or some part of yourself.

I don't know whether it was just me (and my children), but I would never have gone to an adult with some of the things that scared me. It was somehow as if...if I put it into words, it became even scarier? That if an adult had acknowledged my fear - even with reassurance - it would have made the scary thing twice as scary. Hard to explain, but children's brains are a very odd place.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Really?? Wow. Think I must have missed those episodes.

I'm pretty certain that there was a Midshipman Rimmer in the 'alternative' Captain Pugwash. Along with Seaman Staines, Master Bates, Dick (or was was it Roger?) the Cabin Boy.... and all the rest of the usual suspects.

And Barry Gayboat, Midshipman Felch, Rear Admiral Rearadmiral and Captain Bumder Arsecrackers.

 

[LymeswoldSnork]

I was listening to Dead Ringer on Saturday and Greta Thunberg was described as the worlds first "Woke Moomin" which I found hilarious despite it bringing back the whole terror of Moomins I experienced as a child.

Had to hide the books at night in case they got me.

Not the Moomins themselves. But the Groke and the Hattifatteners.

 

[CharmerKamelion]

Not the Moomins themselves. But the Groke and the Hattifatteners.

I loved the Moomin books when I was around 10, but the world of those stories was eerie and quite edgy. Quite deliberately, I always thought. Even as a kid, I picked up on undercurrents in those stories. It wasn't a cosy world. Having said that, I didn't find the Moomins themselves scary, but many of the other characters seemed to have a creepiness about them. And, yes, the Groke was definitely menacing. And often the scenarios were a bit doomy. An approaching comet, a midsummer flood, an abandoned lighthouse.... they used to give me what I think of now as 'good chills'. In essence, they were 'haunting'.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I loved the Moomin books when I was around 10, but the world of those stories was eerie and quite edgy. Quite deliberately, I always thought. Even as a kid, I picked up on undercurrents in those stories. It wasn't a cosy world. Having said that, I didn't find the Moomins themselves scary, but many of the other characters seemed to have a creepiness about them. And, yes, the Groke was definitely menacing. And often the scenarios were a bit doomy. An approaching comet, a midsummer flood, an abandoned lighthouse.... they used to give me what I think of now as 'good chills'. In essence, they were 'haunting'.

I recall finding the stop motion animation eerie or creepy in general and not just the Groke.

 

[escargot]

I recall finding the stop motion animation eerie or creepy in general and not just the Groke.

Stop-motion came back into fashion a few years ago in horror films, where a scary character would appear to approach the camera in a few jumps. It's like being jumped at by an insect or animal.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Stop-motion came back into fashion a few years ago in horror films, where a scary character would appear to approach the camera in a few jumps. It's like being jumped at by an insect or animal.

It's inherently unsettling and quite insect-like as you say, it tends to be used pretty unsubtly though.

 

[escargot]

It's inherently unsettling and quite insect-like as you say, it tends to be used pretty unsubtly though.

Yup, when it comes with a BANG sound effect it becomes a jump scare. Shitty cheap effects, ruining a fillum for me. I'm not 15!

 

[GingerTabby]

When I was very small my paternal grandparents had neighbours whose front garden featured a display of decorative deer. I don't know what the deer were made of because I never got close enough to touch them but I assume they must have been fashioned out of hard plastic or ceramic. The torsos and heads were painted beige but the eyes were jet black and very beady. I remember being frightened of those creepy deer eyes. I never liked walking past that house for that reason.

 

[IbisNibs]

Rear Admiral Rearadmiral

Don't you mean Rear Admiral Rearadmirer?

 

[Spring Heeled Spud]

When I was very young (5 or 6) I used to be freaked out by the Star Trek opening titles, specifically the part where the Enterprise comes zooming out of deep space into the camera. I still have no idea why but it used to terrify me. Funnily enough, around that age or when I was a bit older I used to have these weird hallucinatory dreams when I was ill (the usual for that age - tonsillitis, mumps etc). Don't know if anyone remembers in amusement arcades they used to have machines where you'd roll a coin down a chute onto a moving, striped base and if it landed in a black stripe it would push some coins out as it reached the end? I used to dream giant versions of the coins, like 20ft high, were rolling towards me. But they came from so far back I couldn't see where they originated from. It's only just occurred to me that the effect was similar so maybe it was some kind of depth perception thing mentally

 

[NomDeGuerre]

Bit before my time but a lot of 70s kids TV is rather sinister… Bagpuss, Mr Benn, The Clangers and, shudder of shudders, The Magic Roundabout (it’s theme tune) are all intensely unsettling.

 

[Nosmo King]

Bit before my time but a lot of 70s kids TV is rather sinister… Bagpuss, Mr Benn, The Clangers and, shudder of shudders, The Magic Roundabout (it’s theme tune) are all intensely unsettling.

I loved all thise programmes as a kid, and still do now, the best was definately ' Jamie and the magic torch' definately surreal and with a great theme song.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Bit before my time but a lot of 70s kids TV is rather sinister… Bagpuss, Mr Benn, The Clangers and, shudder of shudders, The Magic Roundabout (it’s theme tune) are all intensely unsettling.

That's partially the basis for a lot of Hauntology, it's before my time too but all those programmes were still being played in the day time when I was a kid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauntology

https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/

 

[ozmond2600]

Sorry for the odd title and if anyone can think of a more apt one, please change it!

I was talking with a relative a little while ago about things which scared or disturbed us when young, that weren't obviously 'scary' as such.

Mine was at the very end of the UK TV broadcasts of the original 'Muppet Show', when the saxophone-playing muppet blows his single low note, and the show is then finished. I have no idea why this scared me, but I do know it was the sound rather than the sight. I used to put my fingers on my ears and press so I wouldn't hear it!

My young niece was upset by encountering anyone wearing a hat of any kind, she didn't grow out of it until she was 6 or 7.

When I was a child there was a tv series called Worzel Gummidge about a scarecrow. I used to go and hide under the stairs at the end where the credits are playing and he gets on his cross and it topples over. No idea why I did that.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

When I was a child there was a tv series called Worzel Gummidge about a scarecrow. I used to go and hide under the stairs at the end where the credits are playing and he gets on his cross and it topples over. No idea why I did that.

Wurzel Gummidge was pretty weird/scary in general, I think.

 

[Nosmo King]

Wurzel Gummidge was pretty weird/scary in general, I think.

Espevially when he changed his head for one of the different ones kept on a shelf

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Espevially when he changed his head for one of the different ones kept on a shelf

Or hit his wife's head off...

 

[gordonrutter]

Bit before my time but a lot of 70s kids TV is rather sinister… Bagpuss, Mr Benn, The Clangers and, shudder of shudders, The Magic Roundabout (it’s theme tune) are all intensely unsettling.

On YouTube you can change the playback speed, try The Magic Roundabout slowed down. The tune is straight from a horror movie and the characters going round are slowly shaking their heads and putting their hands to their mouths as if something horrible has just happened…

 

[escargot]

When I was very young (5 or 6) I used to be freaked out by the Star Trek opening titles, specifically the part where the Enterprise comes zooming out of deep space into the camera. I still have no idea why but it used to terrify me. Funnily enough, around that age or when I was a bit older I used to have these weird hallucinatory dreams when I was ill (the usual for that age - tonsillitis, mumps etc). Don't know if anyone remembers in amusement arcades they used to have machines where you'd roll a coin down a chute onto a moving, striped base and if it landed in a black stripe it would push some coins out as it reached the end? I used to dream giant versions of the coins, like 20ft high, were rolling towards me. But they came from so far back I couldn't see where they originated from. It's only just occurred to me that the effect was similar so maybe it was some kind of depth perception thing mentally

You might remember this thread -

Weird Psychological Thing Re: Big/Small

It goes on from big/small to near/far and all sorts.

 

[CALGACUS03]

I'm pretty certain that there was a Midshipman Rimmer in the 'alternative' Captain Pugwash. Along with Seaman Staines, Master Bates, Dick (or was was it Roger?) the Cabin Boy.... and all the rest of the usual suspects.

That one's an urban legend; I remember seeing an interview with the creator of Captain Pugwash in which the interviewer asked him about it and the cartoonist (a very punctilious, ex-army sort of chap) was outraged at the suggestion.

From Digital Spy here:

An absolute classic urban legend, which claims that the animated BBC series Captain Pugwash (1958 to 1967), featured several rude character names, including Master Bates, Seaman Staines and Roger the Cabin Boy. And that Pugwash itself was Australian slang for oral sex. Tee-hee.

Actually, the real show featured the characters Master Mate, Tom the Cabin Boy and the pirates Barnabas and Willy. OK, that last one is a bit funny.

Creator John Ryan actually won settlements from several newspapers which claimed the show had such smutty names, and the BBC had even taken it off the air because of the rumours.

Comedy duo Victor Lewis-Smith and Paul Sparks have claimed credit for starting the rumours, while the naughty names have also been attributed to a Richard Digance sketch.

 

[psychomania1973]

As a very small child I was scared of the Michelin man. Specifically a large display in a huge shop near us that sold absolutely everything (Woolco)
This particularly terrifying bit of advertising display was, from what I can remember (it was over forty years ago I last saw it) shelving, displaying tires with an inflatable Michelin monstrosity perched on top. Every so often this abomination would deflate and then re-inflate. It was situated right next to the tills. On one shopping trip with my parents I created such a fuss a shop worker had to unplug it as I was hysterical, refusing to go past it to exit the shop. In the end my parents used to leave me with my Grandad at home rather than have to endure another shopping trip with a screaming crying terrified child.

One other thing I remember being very scared of was a large model of humpty dumpty at Blackgang chine on the Isle of Wight. I can still picture his awful leering toothy grimace.
That particular holiday was a source of nightmares for years due to humpty, and also a visit to Brading waxworks. The whole of the waxworks was mildly terrifying but one display in particular - an animated robed skelletal figure seated at an organ playing toccata whilst a dead looking woman in a coffin reached her hand out of the slightly open lid will haunt me forever.

 

[EnolaGaia]

As a very small child I was scared of the Michelin man. Specifically a large display in a huge shop near us that sold absolutely everything (Woolco)
This particularly terrifying bit of advertising display was, from what I can remember (it was over forty years ago I last saw it) shelving, displaying tires with an inflatable Michelin monstrosity perched on top. Every so often this abomination would deflate and then re-inflate. It was situated right next to the tills. On one shopping trip with my parents I created such a fuss a shop worker had to unplug it as I was hysterical, refusing to go past it to exit the shop. In the end my parents used to leave me with my Grandad at home rather than have to endure another shopping trip with a screaming crying terrified child. ...

Here (hidden by a spoiler tag in case you're still traumatized ... ) is a photo of a 1960s-era inflatable Michelin Man (Bib) figure used in advertising. The inflation mechanism in the blue box on which the figure sits would inflate / deflate him based on a timer. Coincidentally, one of these items was listed on eBay UK as recently as last week.

Is this the advertising item that terrified you?

Spoiler: Pic Of Inflatable Bib Advertising Item

 

[psychomania1973]

Here (hidden by a spoiler tag in case you're still traumatized ... ) is a photo of a 1960s-era inflatable Michelin Man (Bib) figure used in advertising. The inflation mechanism in the blue box on which the figure sits would inflate / deflate him based on a timer. Coincidentally, one of these items was listed on eBay UK as recently as last week.

Is this the advertising item that terrified you?

Spoiler: Pic Of Inflatable Bib Advertising Item

View attachment 42272

That’s the bugger!
oh… oh dear god. I always thought my child mind had distorted his memory to be more terrifying than he actually was. Now I realise that I was remembering him pretty accurately.

Edit: and here he is in action